Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Black hair, brown eyes. Teresa's right ear is pierced twice and her left ear three times. She has a Caesarean section scar on her abdomen and she has noticeable dimples.

Details of Disappearance

Teresa is believed to have disappeared from her residence on County Road 241, also known as Eight Ditch Road, just off of Highway 62 near Risco, Missouri on January 25, 2006. She was last heard from when she spoke to a relative on the phone at 10:00 p.m. the previous day. Teresa's husband, Gary Dale Butler, came home at 10:00 a.m. on January 25 after working the night shift at his place of work, and found his wife missing and their two sons, aged two and four years, home alone. She has never been heard from again.

The family's video camera, PlayStation with games, Nintendo Game Cube with games, large Mag-Lite flashlight, digital camera and car stereo disappeared with Teresa, along with her purse and cellular phone, but her wedding rings, black leather jacket and her forest-green Jeep were left behind. She normally took off her wedding rings every night before bed. There were no signs of forced entry to the home and no blood or indications that a struggle had taken place, but a key was found broken off in a lock at the residence.

Cellular phone records revealed that a call was placed from Teresa's phone at 3:16 a.m. on the day of her disappearance, to a residence in Gideon, Missouri. The man who lived there did not answer the phone at the time. He said he didn't know Teresa or anyone in her family. After her disappearance, her cellular phone was used to place a call to Clarkton, Missouri, to a home where two elderly women lived together. The women don't know Teresa either and stated they answered the phone but heard nothing from the other end. Authorities are uncertain why the calls were made.

Gary stated his wife was not having any problems prior to her disappearance, but her coworkers stated she had received upsetting phone calls from Gary's ex-wife. She told her father Gary's ex-wife had threatened her. Gary maintains that the differences between Teresa and his former wife were amicably resolved. It is unclear whether his ex-wife or the phone calls have anything to do with Teresa's disappearance.

Teresa's disappearance is considered suspicious, as she has no history of instability or of leaving without warning, and it would be uncharacteristic of her to leave her children unattended. Her husband has been ruled out as a suspect in her case. Teresa was employed in the photo department of Wal-Mart in Dexter, Missouri at the time of her disappearance, and was scheduled to work at noon on the day she went missing, but never showed up. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
New Madrid County Sheriff's Office
573-748-2516